Whose Line is it Anyway?

(11/25/2009)

The Indonesian National News Agency Antara reports that Hollywood Star Julia Roberts may have had a hard time remembering her lines while shooting "Eat, Pray, Love" in and around Bali's cultural Mecca of Ubud.

Hadi Subiyanto, the actor cast in the role of a spiritual guru to Elizabeth Gilbert, the part portrayed by Roberts, told the press: "Julia Roberts often didn't remember her lines and did a lot of improvisation. This made me confused, because I memorized the last word of each line from Julia's dialogue so I would know when to begin my dialogue."

Despite Julia Robert's lapses of memory and a resulting large number of retakes, the Indonesian actor and music educator enjoyed playing opposite the Academy award-winning actress.

According to Antara, Hadi's acting skills received praise from both Roberts and Ketut Liyer, the Ubud-based spiritual healer he portrays in the film. 95-years of age and in poor health, Liyer told Had he liked his performance, saying: "Wow, you played the part very well . . .if I had to play myself its not certain I would have acted as well."

Hadi told the press that retakes were not always the fault of an actor forgetting his or her lines, but were also made necessary by strong winds.

Hadi said: "it was hard to do Ketut Liyer's lines because his English is not fluent. The Director said I could improvise, but I didn't want to do that."

In the film the 67-year old actor played the part of Liyer who is nearly three decades older. A committed actor, Hadi impressed many on the set with his complete memorization of his script, including the punctuation of each sentence. The actor whose age qualifies him as a senior citizen, revealed that he had to make a complete physical and mental commitment to successfully undertake the role.

However, when Hadi met with Liyer, he refused to memorize a specific mantra provided by the spiritualist, necessitating that Liyer's own voice be used in a prayer sequence at a local temple.

Hadi told of how Liyer presented him with one of his highly-prized mystical books depicting a four-legged man. Hadi says he attaches a deeper meaning to the symbol, reminding him that whatever challenges he faces in life he must be prepared to stand firm as though he had four feet to support him. Adding, "don't look at the world with only your head, but also with your heart."